Encore 2040 rebuild..

[Woodsplitter67]

So I found a picture of the thermostat cable.. showing where to place it. the cable should be loose and back on the casting so the air plate can be put on with out it getting pinched

 

[Woodsplitter67]

I need to correct one of the posts.. when installing the Gaskets between the engine and the fire back. The fireback gets installed, then the stainless steel gasket goes against the engin, the fiberform gasket goes against the stainless steel gasket and the refractory goes against the fiberform gasket so in this order engin,steel gaket,fiber gasket, then refractory

 

[bigealta]

Very nice write up! Thanks

 

[begreen]

Yes, super helpful information, especially with the pictures.

The fireback gets installed, then the stainless steel gasket goes against the engin, the fiberform gasket goes against the stainless steel gasket and the refractory goes against the fiberform gasket so in this order engin,steel gaket,fiber gasket, then refractory

Using the manual's part descriptions it is: the refractory engine, fiber gasket, then the stainless fireback plate, and finally the refractory fireback.

 

[JohnDaileyNH]

This is awesome. Looks very doable if needed

 

[Woodsplitter67]

So I did do my first test fire.. Im pretty sure Its a good job and running well. Its not a full on burn and I didnt close the damper.. so far.. so good

 

[Woodsplitter67]

and here it is.

 

[weee123]

Perfect day for the first fire of the year nice and chilly out

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Perfect day for the first fire of the year nice and chilly out

did you burn..

 

[weee123]

did you burn..

Not yet. Sitting in the tree stand since 5, going to get down in an hour to go light up the stove

 

[Woodsplitter67]

So here is how the first fire went.. I did more burning than anticipated. The stove ran well... once cooled I will need to do a small adjustment on the primary air flapper... Its not super cold out so draft wasn't where it should be for winter. I did close the damper and get the cat going on just 25% of wood being in the stove and it lit off nicely. I had good control of the stove so I went with a full burn The cat went up to 1240 degrees.. I cut the air back and as usual the temperature did drop some then started to climb as expected..I shut the air down completely and again.. the cat temperature dropped as it should and then worked its way back up to almost where it was with the primary air fully open.. the cat climbed to 1230.. no smoke out of the stack.. looking good guys and gals

 

[Woodsplitter67]

So I did my first stove cleanout after burning for about a month and the inside of the stove looked clean. The refractory looked good. The cat in it was what I was running last year.

After burning for over a month and doing many overnight burns and low long day burns. I can say that this stove is not a hard rebuild and I got it correct on the first try.

Knowing VC it best to pre order parts need. Using mountain view hearth is a good resource for parts getting VC parts at a reasonable price.
It seems that the gaskets around the refractory take a beating. Taking off the top of the stove is the easiest way to work on it. Taking off the top is only 1 bolt and 2 nuts

 

[sargeott]

So I did my first stove cleanout after burning for about a month and the inside of the stove looked clean. The refractory looked good. The cat in it was what I was running last year.

After burning for over a month and doing many overnight burns and low long day burns. I can say that this stove is not a hard rebuild and I got it correct on the first try.

Knowing VC it best to pre order parts need. Using mountain view hearth is a good resource for parts getting VC parts at a reasonable price.
It seems that the gaskets around the refractory take a beating. Taking off the top of the stove is the easiest way to work on it. Taking off the top is only 1 bolt and 2 nuts

View attachment 319209 View attachment 319210 View attachment 319211

I like the design of the Encore better than my stove after seeing your rebuild. The air routing makes logical sense and so does the location of the cat.
The Dauntless cat location being horizontal to the fire box right behind my cover seems stupid. Direct flame impingment seems way more possible in my design's case than yours.
Since heat and smoke rise through your cat, as opposed to the draft needing to suck the smoke and heat through the dauntless and then up the flu is just silly to me.
Now I understand why the bigger stoves run so much different than mine and why draft differences between the two types show such different results.
Great write up.
Thanks a ton!

 

[Woodsplitter67]

I like the design of the Encore better than my stove after seeing your rebuild. The air routing makes logical sense and so does the location of the cat.
The Dauntless cat location being horizontal to the fire box right behind my cover seems stupid. Direct flame impingment seems way more possible in my design's case than yours.
Since heat and smoke rise through your cat, as opposed to the draft needing to suck the smoke and heat through the dauntless and then up the flu is just silly to me.
Now I understand why the bigger stoves run so much different than mine and why draft differences between the two types show such different results.
Great write up.
Thanks a ton!

So just to clarify.. this is a downdraft stove.. from the firebox...the air enters the top of the combuster.. exists out the bottom of the combuster .. then goes up the back of the stove into the stovepipe

The rebuilding process was kinda cool

 

[AsylumResident]

@sargeott I'm trying to understand how the Encore and the Dauntless are different. Your explanation of your Dauntless sounds like what I would expect the Encore to be.

 

[sargeott]

Sorry,
I said horizontal on the duantless, and I should have said parallel to the firebox. Your explaination makes sense after I looked at the VC website and found the below diagram.
The encore cat is horizontally mounted.

Mine is drastically different!
The dauntless has small air holes at the back of the fire box, on the front side of the refractory, down low, just below the ceramic inspection plate. I drew on this one how mine is set up. The blue line represents my ceramic inspection plate where the hot gases enter. I drew a new red line of the direction of my hot gases in a red line.
The black line is my cat location and then the gases travel up and out the back of the stove to the chimney pipe.

 

[sargeott]

OK,
@Woodsplitter67 We had a warmer day yesterday, so I could shut the stove down and I wanted to take some photos to better explain my diagram above this post. These Dauntless stoves are quite a bit different than yours.
The first photo is the firebox with the Refractory cover.
The second photo shows how the cat is oriented in the Dauntless 2115 2n1 Flexburn I have. Now you can see how direct flame impingment could be an issue with my stove.
Keep in mind, this is the original cat, one year old and close to 8months of 24x7 use (about 5,700hours).
The third photo is with the Cat removed. I think this design is why draft doesn't change a single bit with/without the Catalyst. The Dauntless is not really a full down draft since the gases pass through that catalytst, make a 90degree turn up and meet the flu pipe just behind the bypass damper flap as show in the 4th photo.
The last picture shows a small amount of spalling I am seeing inside the refractory on the back side of the catalyst area (because I don't monitor my cat temps). This one is on me

 

[redman]

I'm a year late but I will be replacing the refractory engine on my encore flexburn 2n1. I've had it 10 years and the thing is crumbling apart so it's time. Thanks for this step by step. I replaced the damper a few years ago but never the engine so I needed this.

 

[dhimmel]

Thanks Woodsplitter67 for this amazing guide. I am currently troubleshooting the thermostat cable on my Encore FlexBurn 2040 manufactured on 2014-07-29 that I recently bought used. The crimp sleeve securing the cable to the thermostat had fallen off. On my first attempt to repair, I recrimped the cable, but there was a lot of friction when rotating the thermostat handle, I believe because the cable was pinched somewhere. I noticed some fraying at the ends of the cable, so I got the replacement cable with part number 5005471. Before installing the replacement, I want to make sure I do it correctly

on the RIGHT side air plate the air control shold be about 3/4 closed and the thermostat cable needs to be tucked down on the bend that pertruds out on the RHS of the stove casting. There is a half round guide on the air plate that the cable rides on.. You install the air plate and when you move the air control the cable will pop onto the guide on the air plate

Here is a picture of my stove. Based on your excellent description, I believe the cable should rub against the lip/protrusion of the stove casting prior to right side air manifold installation. And then after installation, the cable should jump to the manifold lip/protrusion. Is that correct?

There is another variable which is whether to fully extend the cable where it gets clamped by a bolt on the primary air valve assembly. Would creating that extra slack help ease the installation? Should I first install the manifold with maximal slack and then adjust the cable length from the rear?

So I found a picture of the thermostat cable.. showing where to place it. the cable should be loose and back on the casting so the air plate can be put on with out it getting pinched

UPDATE: I just saw the second page of this thread including this comment, which helps answer my question.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

So yes.. loosen the primary air flap cable. Put the cable on the on the guide and when you install the air manifold the cable should slip into place. You will need to adjust the cable tension on the primary air flapper .. cold stove when doing this.. make sure you turn the primary air lever to all the way open then close the air all the way.. you should hear the flapper click closed.. if not.. loosen the cable.

May the force be with you... always..

 

[dhimmel]

you should hear the flapper click closed.. if not.. loosen the cable

The second attempt at fixing the thermostat cable on my VC Encore 2040 was a success! Thanks woodsplitter for the guidance. Some notes below

• I purchased cable replacement 5005471 from amazon for $19.99
• The original cable had a 0.83 mm diameter, the replacement had 0.91 mm diameter.
• The extra length on the replacement cable aided installation
• The interior bolts holding on air manifolds took a 7/16” hex socket
• I taped the replacement cable to the old cable to help fish it to the assembly, but I had to remove the Primary Air Valve Assembly (two PH3 bolts) to thread the replacement cable because with tape it the cables will not fit through the exit hole.
• The Primary Air Valve Assembly 30005324 cable bolt took a 7/64” allen key, although hand tightening was sufficient. Over torquing can kink or fray the cable. Tighten just enough such that the valve can be actuated with the cable but not more.
• The right air manifold presses the thermostat against the casting and controls min and max rotation.

 

[begreen]

Nice write up and tips.
I liked it better when the thermostat assembly was totally external. It was much easier to check, service, and adjust.